Black Sea as a Battlefield: Ukraine’s Perspectives and Strategies in the Region

The area encompassing the Black and Azov Seas holds immense strategic importance for Ukraine’s national interests. Since 2014, it has been a site of conflict for Ukraine due to Russia’s occupation and militarisation of Crimea, creeping occupation of the Sea of Azov and denial strategy in the Black Sea. This area has become an actual battlefield with Russia’s reinvasion in 2022. Ukraine has effectively employed asymmetric tactics in response to Russia’s offensive in the Black Sea. This strategy has compelled the Russian Navy to withdraw to the eastern part of the Black Sea, enabling Ukraine to thwart Russia’s maritime blockade and resume seaborne exports via its own transportation corridor. This chapter discusses Ukraine’s perspective on the Azov and Black Seas as a strategic space for its political, economic, security and energy interests. Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014 and 2022 full-scale invasion have transformed the Black Sea from a zone of opportunities to a source of military threat and insecurity. Russia’s control of the Sea of Azov and dominance in the Black Sea hinder Ukraine’s ability to advance its broad interests in the region.